The Clifton clarion., 1887-04-13
The Pet Feminine Vice.

OetfolC IflOune: "Ihe orlSln O1 chewing gum is unknown" said 6 manufacturer who was in Detroit the other day, "and it is impossible to defnitly decide what people tc charge with its invention. Deal CTS who sell it and the manufac- turers who make it profess pro found ignorance of its genesis. while savants differ as to where the practice originated. The ma jority of persons who have given the subject Investigation are dis posed to trace the practice to the barbaric tribes of Africa, whose women find the resinous gum which the. .tropic sun causes to ex- ude from the trees and chew 1t. It is probable that this custom was introduced into the southern states by African slaves, whe found the pine tree of the south as prolific 1n gum as the trees of their native for ests. The white women of that sec ton at that time were almost entire y given to the nauseating habit of dipping snuff. e., rubbing 1t over their gums with the frayed ends of pine sticks. Ip time they adopted the more cleanly and healthy custom of their slaves, and the pine-tree gum became their favorite, largely superseding the snuf-dip' An observing Yankee travelling through the south in ante bellum days noticed the feminine gum habit and saw prospective fortune in manufacturing an arti- ficial gum of superior flavor to that gathered in the woods. A little rancid tallow, a trife of gum arabic mixed together and harden ed, then cut into small cubes and wrapped in colored paper, consti- tuted the chewing gum of twenty year ago.
 "The mixture found ready sale among southern women, and iD time demand grew up for it in the cities of tue north. Gum chew ing in few years spread rapidly among the classes of the east, and finally crossed the Alleghenios and swept over the west like wild-fre.
 "There is no basis upon which to estimate the percentage of American women who chew gum, but the number has been put at from one-half to two-thiras of the feminine population. The prac- tice is confined to no particular class. The lady in her parlor and the maid in the kitchen exercise their jaws over the tasteless sub stance with the same industry. It is far more common among women than chewing tobacco is with men"
 "Who are the greatest users of the stuff"
 "Frobably the girls employed in the large factories are the most confirmed gum-chewers. A walk along Gratiot and Michigan ave nues in the evening, when those thoroughfares are thronged with girls returning from work, shows about every other one assiduously plying her jaws"
 4 prominent Detroit candy-deal- CT, when questioned upon the sub ject, said: Yes, two-thirds of my lady customers when they visit me lay in a supply of chewing-gum, the principal demand for it comes from school and shop girls. A few men buy it regularly, but they are generally persons who have been addicted to chewing to- bacco and are endeavoring to con quer the habit. The dudes use it quite extensively and usually want high favored brand. Tine women of the demi-monde buy itin large quantities. It is all harm less"
 4 physician asserts that girls working m largo factories where there was a great deal of dust were benefited by its use. it causes them to swallow or to spit out the dust they inhale, which otherwise would find Judgment in their lungs" he explained.
 A dentist did not beleve it could injure the teeth, but thought 1t i'm proved them, as the constant fric- ton kept them free from tartar